Jail for armed robbery.

Press, 21 November 1981, Page 4

Jail for armed robbery.

A sentence of two years and a half in prison’ was imposed in the High Court yesterday on Rex Donald Hitchcox, aged 30. for his part in the armed robbery of a woman shopkeeper in a Centaurus Road dairy on March 7. Mr Justice Roper said in imposing sentence that the robbery was not carried out with any particular skill but must have been a most terrifying experience for the woman. On an additional charge of conspiring with Barry John Wiki to rob the Woolston T.A.B. office the same day Hitchcox was jailed for a year, to be served concurrently with the longer sentence. Hitchcox had previously pleaded guilty to the two offences. Earlier evidence was that the two had planned to rob the T.A.B. but had then driven on to the dairy. They entered the rear of the shop with their faces masked, and robbed the shopkeeper of $l2O and tried to get her into the car they were using. The shopkeeper’s young son was also in the shop during the robbery »• Mr D. J. Taffs said in mitigation of penalty for Hitchcox that Wiki was the prime mover in all phases of the conspiracy and of the robbery. He had recruited Hitchcox in a hotel bar, and had provided the stolen, car, rifles, and other items. Without Wiki, Hitchcox would not have thought of committing a robbery. He had been left in the lurch at the robbery scene when Wiki had driven off. The rifles which they carried were inoperable Mr Taffs said Hitchcox had made a full and frank admission of the offences, and his part was a minor one in regard to his intentions. He had been in custody for six months while awaiting his scheduled trial on the charges. Mr G. K. Pankhurst, for the Crown, made no other submissions after commenting that Wiki, who had been sentenced to two years and a half in prison for the robbery, and a year for conspiracy, had been granted a retrial on the robbery charge, on the ground of misdirection of the jury in the Judge’s summing up. The Crown had also instituted an appeal against the jail sentence K, of two years and a half imposed on Wiki for the robbery.